Local legislatorsr co-sponsors aid bills for ‘ultra-small’ businesses, first responders
State Rep. Pam Snyder is thinking not just small, but “ultra-small.”
She and a colleague from eastern Pennsylvania announced this week that they will sponsor a bill that would offer grants to “ultra-small” businesses impacted by the COVID-19 global pandemic.
Snyder’s aide, Nate Regotti, stressed there are no applications for the program because it is still in the proposal stage.
The bill would create a $50 million grant program for businesses making no more than $3 million per year or employing up to 30 full-time employees.
Snyder, who represents all of Greene County and parts of Washington and Fayette counties, released the information along with state Rep. Joe Ciresi (D-Montgomery).
“These small businesses are the lifeblood of our communities, and we know there are thousands of Pennsylvania small business owners who have been hit especially hard by the economic downturn as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Snyder said in a news release.
“Gov. Tom Wolf has ordered all non-life-sustaining businesses to close, saying his top priority is to save Pennsylvania lives, then save their livelihoods.”
Snyder and Ciresi wrote in a memorandum seeking co-sponsors, “We must remain mindful toward not just our large employers, but also our small.”
Last month, Gov. Tom Wolf announced new funding is available to help small businesses impacted by COVID-19 through a new program under the Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority’s Small Business First Fund, the COVID-19 Working Capital Access Program.
Support for first responders
Recognizing that the ongoing response to the COVID-19 crisis is placing a severe financial crisis on Pennsylvania’s volunteer fire companies and EMS squads, state Sen. Camera Bartolotta (R-Carroll) and a colleague are introducing legislation to establish a one-time grant program to support those vital first responders.
She and state Sen. Joe Pittman of Indiana County identified volunteer fire companies and emergency medical services squads as being in need of immediate financial assistance when traditional fundraising methods aren’t feasible.
The measure would provide a one-time grant to each fire and EMS company matching the ones previously approved by the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency and the Office of the State Fire Commissioner for the 2019-20 Fiscal Year.
Additionally, the bill would open a window for EMS and volunteer fire companies that may have missed applying for the original grant.
The additional $30 million needed for the grants would come from funds allocated to Pennsylvania through federal stimulus money.
“COVID-19 has severely restricted many of the ways that our volunteer first responders traditionally raise money, like boot drives and chicken barbeques. The needs of these organizations are even greater now as they respond to the statewide public health emergency this virus has caused,” Bartolotta said. “This program will ensure the men and women on the front lines in the battle against the (novel) coronavirus will continue to have the training, supplies and equipment they need to keep our communities – and themselves – safe.”